U.S.|Suspect in 3 Black Church Fires in Louisiana Is Charged With Hate Crimes

Advertisement

Supported by

Suspect in 3 Black Church Fires in Louisiana Is Charged With Hate Crimes

Image

Greater Union Baptist Church in Opelousas, La., after a fire on April 2. Holden Matthews, 21, has been charged with arson and hate crimes in connection with fires there and and two other predominantly black churches.CreditCreditWilliam Widmer for The New York Times

A man accused of setting fire to three predominantly black churches in a southern Louisiana parish was charged with hate crimes on Monday, adding to the three charges of arson that were filed last week.

The man, Holden Matthews, the 21-year-old son of a deputy sheriff, was arrested last week, accused of setting fire to the churches in St. Landry Parish, north of Lafayette. He pleaded not guilty on Monday and was not granted bond.

At a news conference last week, the authorities announced Mr. Matthews’s arrest and the initial charges of three counts of simple arson of a church building. Gov. John Bel Edwards of Louisiana said at the time that although he did not know the motivation behind the fires, “these were evil acts.”

The authorities also suggested a possible connection to black metal, a genre of music they said had been linked to church burnings in the past. Mr. Matthews was a member of a black metal band called Vodka Vultures.

Earl Taylor, the district attorney for St. Landry Parish, filed the additional hate crime charges against Mr. Matthews on Monday, according to court documents in the case.

Mr. Taylor declined to comment on the new charges. Under Louisiana law, hate crimes include acts done because of race, religion or ancestry, among other factors, and applies to both the owners and occupants of a property.

St. Landry Parish is a rural area in the heart of Cajun and Creole country. It is 56 percent white and 41 percent black. The fires, which destroyed the three churches, occurred on March 26, April 2 and April 4. The first was at St. Mary Baptist Church in the Port Barre; the two others were at Greater Union Baptist Church and Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in the small city of Opelousas, the parish seat.

At a court hearing on Monday, the state fire marshal, Butch Browning, cited extensive evidence tying Mr. Matthews to the blazes, including cellphone records that showed his location, and photographs on his phone that captured the fires in their early stages, The Associated Press reported. The fires were started with gasoline, and the churches were empty when they were set aflame.

A fourth fire, a small blaze that officials said was “intentionally set,” was reported on March 31 at a predominantly white church in Caddo Parish, about a three-hour drive north. It was unclear whether that fire was connected to the others.

The F.B.I. and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had been involved in the investigation, as well as the Louisiana and Florida state fire marshals, the cybercrime unit of the Louisiana attorney general’s office, and state and local police.

Mr. Matthews’s lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.